Examining Novice Physical Education Teachers’ Professional Identity Tensions in Rural China: The Dilemmatic Space Theory

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 5:10 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Examining Chinese Teachers' Identities (Table 10)

Abstract

This qualitative study explores novice physical education (PE) teachers’ professional identities in rural China from the perspectives of Windschitl’s four types of dilemmas and Fransson and Grannäs’ dilemmatic space. This research shows that the participants elucidated their professional identity tensions around fours arenas, which constitute the dilemmatic space for them to navigate in the Chinese rural schools. These dilemmas encompass the discrepancy between the requirements of PE core competency curriculum reform and the traditional didactic instructional model; the contradiction between the marginalized status and multiple professional responsibilities; the tension between sporting skill teaching and whole-person education; the tension of PE as a learning process and a performative product; disdain of PE education and low PE instructional quality in rural China.

Author

• Gang Zhu, East China Normal University